Blog: Strong third period helps Golden Knights run away from Oilers

By Justin Emerson

Published Sunday, March 17, 2019 | 3:47 p.m.

Updated Sunday, March 17, 2019 | 10:09 p.m.

The Golden Knights scored three goals in the third period to pull away from the Edmonton Oilers and claim a 6-3 victory on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.

The Golden Knights opened their first multi-goal lead 40 seconds into the third thanks to some slick back-checking. Reilly Smith forced a a turnover in the neutral zone, then paused just long enough for Jonathan Marchessault to enter the zone. Smith passed the puck to Marchessault, who fired home his second goal of the night to make it 4-2.

It was Smith's second assist of the game.

Kris Russell answered back for the Oilers, scoring on Edmonton's first shot on goal of the period at 5:52. He beat Malcolm Subban, though William Karlsson and Smith both attempting to block the shot forced Subban to face a two-man screen. Russell's goal made it 4-3 Vegas.

Brayden McNabb and Alex Tuch closed the scoring for the Knights to secure Vegas' eighth win in nine games. Tuch made the score 6-3 at the 16:32 mark of the frame by stealing the puck from Leon Draisaitl in the neutral zone and then beating goalie Mikko Koskinen low for the unassisted goal.

Check back later for more coverage.

Teams trade goals in second

The Golden Knights and Oilers exchanged goals in the second period, and Vegas leads 3-2 going into the final period.

It took just 22 seconds for the Oilers to tie the game in the second period when Connor McDavid flicked the puck over to Draisaitl, who was all alone and beat Subban cleanly to make it 2-2.

It was McDavid's second assist on the night, and the eighth game in a row he had multiple points — the first player since 2007 to accomplish the feat.

The Golden Knights, as they have each time it had been tied, scored again to take the lead. This time it was Marchessault collecting a pass from Karlsson in the neutral zone and taking it all the way himself, going high short-side on Koskinen for his first goal in nine games.

Karlsson's assist was his second of the game.

Golden Knights grab lead after 1

The Golden Knights came out flying with eight shots on goal in the first six minutes of the game, and even more that were blocked. Their ninth shot was the one that counted, one of two goals they scored to take a 2-1 lead over the Edmonton Oilers after one period.

The Oilers left Mark Stone alone in the slot, and Karlsson gave him the easy feed for a one-timer for Stones's 31st goal of the year. It was his third goal with the Golden Knights and his first at T-Mobile Arena since last month's trade deadline deal. 

The Oilers can still produce on the power play. McDavid picked up the primary assist on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins quick shot to tie the game at 13:14.

With 55 seconds remaining in the first, the Golden Knights caught the Oilers changing from their penalty-kill unit to 5-on-5. Tomas Nosek found Cody Eakin on the far side of the ice to give him a partial breakaway, and Eakin beat Koskinen top-shelf to give Vegas a 2-1 lead entering the first intermission.

Pre-game

It's not a secret what the Edmonton Oilers are going to try to do tonight against the Golden Knights. They, after all, have arguably the best player in the world.

The Oilers may not be in the hunt for the playoffs, but they still pose a big threat whenever Connor McDavid is in the lineup. The Golden Knights will look to slow down McDavid, and his right-hand man Leon Draisaitl, when the Oilers make their first trip of the year to T-Mobile Arena at 7 p.m.

"Every team, they know when Connor McDavid and Draisaitl are coming in, and they manage to always be producing," Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "They're amazing players, so we need to be aware when they're on the ice and if we do that, and liit time and options for them, we could be good."

Everyone knows about McDavid. The 22-year-old wunderkind has already surpassed the 100-point mark this year, doing it for the third straight this year. He leads Edmonton in points (103), assists (67) and is second with 36 goals. He also has 10 points in six career games against Vegas.

Then when McDavid hops off the ice — which he doesn't do often with an NHL-best 23:03 average time on ice among forwards — Draisaitl patrols the second line. His time on ice of 22:36 is second-best among NHL forwards, and his 42 goals are second in the league and first in the Western Conference.

Splitting them up creates a matchup problem, and it's even tougher when the two are on the power play together.

"You don't really force Connor McDavid to do anything," defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "You can deter some of the things he wants to do, but when you're a player of his stature, you just try and make it as hard for him as possible."

Where the Golden Knights' advantage lies is the rest of the lineup. Outside of their big two, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 52 points, but fourth on the team is Darnell Nurse at 35 points. Only five players on the team have more than 21 points. When McDavid or Draisaitl is not on the ice, that's when the Golden Knights will be able to strike.

But when they are, what's the secret to slowing down the league's best player?

"Hope we find one," coach Gerard Gallant deadpanned.

Emerson's Prediction: Golden Knights 5, Oilers 3

Season record for predictions: Keefer 5-5, Emerson 19-10

TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 38, CenturyLink 640)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-240, Oilers plus-190; over/under: 6 (minus-120, plus-100)

Golden Knights (39-27-5) (21-10-4 home), third place, Pacific Division

Coach: Gerard Gallant (second season)

Points leader: Mark Stone (68)

Goals leader: Mark Stone (30)

Assists leader: Mark Stone (38)

Expected goalie: Malcolm Subban (2.48 gaa, .912 save percentage)

Oilers (32-32-7) (16-15-5 home), fifth place, Pacific Division; sixth place, Wild Card

Coach: Ken Hitchcock (first season)

Points leader: Connor McDavid (103)

Goals leaders: Leon Draisaitl (42)

Assists leader: Connor McDavid (67)

Expected goalie: Mikko Koskinen (2.77 gaa, .911 save percentage)

Golden Knights expected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, Mark Stone, Tomas Nosek, Cody Eakin, Alex Tuch, Ryan Carpenter, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Brayden McNabb, Nate Schmidt, Shea Theodore, Deryk Engelland, Jon Merrill, Colin Miller

Goalies

Maxime Lagace, Malcolm Subban